MLB The Show 21 Impressions Thread

[KnightTemplar]

Re: MLB the Show 21 Impressions Thread

Digging all the new animations and facial expressions. Catcher pitcher meeting on the mound and the pitcher actually looks like he’s going over a few things, tosses the ball gently in his hands. Good job.

[bkrich83]

Re: MLB the Show 21 Impressions Thread

I agree, I actually feel the gameplay is better balanced this year. 20 on default was a homerun derby

I agree with this. I spent a good amount of time in 20 trying to tone down the home runs. This plays as well out of the box as any version I can remember.

[KnightTemplar]

Re: MLB the Show 21 Impressions Thread

Runner on second, one out (auto baserunning) I lay down a perfect bunt, 3rd baseman charges, my runner goes back to second. Problem last year and this year.

[countryboy]

Re: MLB the Show 21 Impressions Thread

Runner on second, one out (auto baserunning) I lay down a perfect bunt, 3rd baseman charges, my runner goes back to second. Problem last year and this year.

Damn thats rough because bunting, at least in my limited experience/opportunties, seems better this year.

I'm current posting bugs/feedback on their site, I'll add this if you'd like.

[RogerDodger]

Re: MLB the Show 21 Impressions Thread

Little things matter and when a foul ball is hit into the stands and you can hear the sound made when it collides with an empty seat, that’s just insane. Also love how they seem to have moved the netting down the foul lines in the ballparks I’ve played in so far, I didn’t notice that last year.

Seems like check swings are much more unforgiving so far, I have only managed a few so far, most being called as strikes. Far fewer checks with the 1st/3rd base umps too.

[bwiggy33]

Re: MLB the Show 21 Impressions Thread

In the 30ish minutes I’ve been able to play the game so far (having a 1.5 year old hinders playing time) it’s been really good. I can’t say much about gameplay yet but I did practice pinpoint pitching and am using it in just an exhibition game. It’s fun but I need more time to get it because the ball only goes up in the zone for me even when I’m aiming low.

As so many have already mentioned, the presentation is great and so fresh. All of the cuts between pitches are awesome. Then one other thing I noticed that I don’t know if it was in past years is a foul ball happens and it shows the batter stepping out or readjusting before the next pitch and the ump takes a ball out of his bag and throws it back to the pitcher. Super cool.

I can’t wait to play more, whenever that time comes.


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[Gort82]

Re: MLB the Show 21 Impressions Thread

They need to work on the umpires on a check swing appeal. They have a horrific look on their faces, and their mouths are moving as if they’re saying something. Almost as hard to look at as what they did to Heidi

[The Bimmer]

Re: MLB the Show 21 Impressions Thread

Damn thats rough because bunting, at least in my limited experience/opportunties, seems better this year.

I'm current posting bugs/feedback on their site, I'll add this if you'd like.

Maybe you could (if you haven't already) make mention of the bat sounds in your post?

The game is perfect for me, but just not feeling those awful hollow sounds when making good contact. Needs to be a sharper crack like in 20'

[bwiggy33]

Re: MLB the Show 21 Impressions Thread

I was having this problem as well. What I found was the last part of the gesture where you move back to the point at the bottom of the circle I kept doing it way too early. You have to time it with the release of the pitch. It was ruining that mechanic for me until I realized that.

Appreciate that! I will keep that in mind when I play again.


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[cman]

Re: MLB the Show 21 Impressions Thread

Appreciate that! I will keep that in mind when I play again.


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Watch the circle at bottom. It shrinks. You want to time it so when you pull down to bottom circle you land on it just as it hits its smallest point.


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[brandon27]

Re: MLB the Show 21 Impressions Thread

As an Xbox player I've always wanted to buy a PS just for this game. After spending a day with it; I'm glad I never did.

Now, that's not a knock on the game or anything; I'm enjoying it. It's just not worth buying a new system for IMO. Of course not many games are, we all know that. I expected to be blown away though by all the hype over the years for this game, but I'm just... not.

For a baseball game itself, it plays well. I'm only scratching the surface of franchise mode. It seems deep; so that's good. I wish there was some more explanation on the hitting and pitching mechanics. Feel like I'm guessing alot. The practice mode to set your settings was nice to have, but still not enough information on executing the different mechanics. There's alot to be desired there from an information and learning standpoint I think.

Then I feel we need to talk about the visuals. Visually, playing on Xbox Series X I've got to say; it's extremely underwhelming. I expected a much nicer looking game. It feels like it lacks alot of texture. Everything just feels flat and cartoonish, not alot of detail. It's not the 4k experience you'd expect as has been seen in other titles this new gen. I just saw the video of the ps4/ps5 comparison, and yeah I'm sure it's like that on XB too. I'm curious to go play it on my Xbox One just to see how it looks there to compare, but it's pretty underwhelming for being a "next gen" title. I look at Madden or NBA 2k for example, the stadiums/arena's, the environments, the lighting just looks so much better. I actually feel like I'm playing one of those "budget" current gen titles like Nascar Heat 5. It's just missing that quality. It looks good still, but it just doesn't feel or look next gen.

Sounds... I'm not sure what happened here, but it sounds like it's in a tin can. There's no.... depth. No low end to anything. I know; it's baseball. Crack of a bat, ball smacking a glove. Mostly treble charged sounds. But it just sounds so... 10 years ago. I feel like I'm playing it through my TV speakers instead of my surround sound system. Other games blow me out of the room. This one leaves me trying to turn it up, then once I do quickly turn it down because it sounds awful. I get it though, they're trying to create a broadcast sound feel and they've done that well I think. It just leaves alot to be desired IMO.

Presentation though... spot on. I think it's fantastic. Commentary seems to get a bit repetitive, but all in all I think it does a great job. Alot of options for camera angles in different scenarios, takes a while to figure out what you like best, but the sheer number of options is awesome.

All in all, I'm so thrilled to have a real baseball game again and I'm also so thankful I didn't have to buy a new system for it. If I had, I'd have been extremely disappointed. To have this game though on Xbox finally. I'm happy. It's fun. It's an all around good experience, but it just leaves alot to be desired for me from a graphics and sound standpoint though.

[Jeffrey Smith]

Re: MLB the Show 21 Impressions Thread

At this point in the season IRL the average HR's per game for a team varies from .062 (Mets) to 1.69 (Reds). If you're getting 1ish a game per team, you're well within the norm of a realistic home run rate.

This makes me feel better. [emoji106]


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[Formula1Racing]

Re: MLB the Show 21 Impressions Thread

Overall looks pretty blah on my Xbox Series S. Not bad by any means but probably not much better then on PS4/Xbox One. Have some antialiasing stuff going on around the bat and hats/helmets. Don’t see a graphics options 4K @ 60fps or 1080 @120. Have had some frame drops once or twice in the 5 or so games I’ve played.

Not what I wanted to hear..lol That's the console I am getting it for on Tuesday. I was planning on buying it but now I might just get the Game Pass and try it for a month. I still have the PS4 Pro so I might go with that instead. Thanks for the info/review!

[Jeffrey99]

Re: MLB the Show 21 Impressions Thread

Not what I wanted to hear..lol That's the console I am getting it for on Tuesday. I was planning on buying it but now I might just get the Game Pass and try it for a month. I still have the PS4 Pro so I might go with that instead. Thanks for the info/review!

Don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t look horrible. I think i was just more expecting NBA 2k style graphic difference between current gen and next gen. I think the patch today helped a bit. There’s just some antialiasing stuff going on around the bill of the batting helmet and the bats.

IMHO it’s still worth getting, if you are a non game pass member.


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[countryboy]

Re: MLB the Show 21 Impressions Thread

20 games (PS4) into this year's installment and bottom line is that on the field, its damn good. It really is amazing how a small update to animations and an update to outfield play can really enhance the game.

I'm playing default Legend and the variation of games I'm getting is once again a thing of beauty. I played a spring training game against the Astros where we combined for 7 homeruns in the game. The next 4 games, myself and the CPU have not combined to hit 7 homeruns. But we've managed to have 2 of those games be high scoring contests where base hits and sacrifices accounted for the runs crossing the plate.

As its been forever in this series, once again in '21, no two games feel the same. And that's saying something when you play against the AI solely.

And reading about some of the not so sexy, non-back of the box updates to franchise mode that tabarnes has discovered in his testing (and yes a few bugs), really sets this game above its predecessor '20.

The loss of Y2Y saves was a blow and I hope it returns in '22, but as I've stated before, I'm over it. I've engrossed myself in with the '21 version of the Cardinals and am working on putting together a 26 man roster to head to Opening Day and compete to win that 12th World Series Championship.

I have been playing this game essentially nonstop since I started at about 7am yesterday morning. I'm 42 years old and I'm pulling all night/all day gaming sessions like I did in my younger days. And just like my younger days, Monday morning is going to hit like an unforgiving brickwall.